well thats jus one mroe thing that can go wrong and if it is the difference of a deer being wounded and a dead deer it would be worth gettin rid of em. but the way i got hooked was that people told me they shoot perfect as feild points right out of the box. but when i was target shooin with my brother he put on his fixed and they shot the same groupin that his feild points did.

I killed 3 with the Gator XP's this year. I like them a lot.

If fixed blades work for you then don't change but you can get wounded deer with fixed and the blades will bend and break if they hit bone. The vortex I use have a 7/8" cut even if they did not open and I have gotten clean pass throughs on all shots so far

Groundhunter,Actually the last time I shot a deer with a fixed head I had exactly what you described happen.I think I remember your other post on this subject and I believe I had the same type hit.I got the shoulder blade and twisted the Thunderhead into a spiral.The arrow was broken off almost immediately and the rest of the arrow was found 20-30 yards down the trail.the mistake was mine,first I made a less than perfect hit and secondly,I thought I had a better hit and started tracking too soon(15 minutes) and pushed the deer.All my fault and I will under no circumstance track sooner than 30 minutes after a shot.Longer if I think it MAY have been a questionable hit.This was several years ago.



Mechanicals get a bad rep from just these kinds of stories and all suffer from a few bad ones.Some mechanicals are fine heads,such as the spitfires but they need high ke to function well,imo.Others,such as the Rocket steelheads penetrate better than most fixed heads.They can be used out of almost any setup with as good or better results than fixed.They do have a durability issue but that is usually from the ground causing bent blades on the other side of the animal.I have never had over 57 ft/lb's of ke with mechanicals and usually much less and never had a problem.




As far as fixed shooting as well as field points,that just isn't going to happen.Yes it is possible to get the same groups with field points and broadheads but that is where it stops.A field point and mechanical allows you to have form flaws and still get good arrow flight.A broadhead on the end of an arrow will not allow such form flaws with good arrow flight.The form flaws I am talking about are the kinds that are experienced when hunting.Like bending around a tree to make a shot and torquing the bow a little.If that arrow comes out of the bow less than perfect with a broadhead,the broadhead takes over and leads the arrow where it wants to go.If the arrow has a field point or a GOOD mechanical,it recovers and is still heading for the target.Basically,a mechanical is more forgiving than a fixed.



I don't care what a person uses as long as it is matched to his or her equipment and is well tuned.That is really the most important,along with shooter ability.


For the record,I did hunt with a really good fixed head this year and will be going back to Rockets this upcoming year for various reasons.(I didn't shoot anything with them for a number of reasons)I like shooting and practicing odd shots and fixed doesn't give me the versatility I like.I also really like the fact that most deer that I hit with the Rockets expire VERY quickly and I don't use or even like the large diameter ones.That is another problem that gives mechanicals a bad rep.People trying to push 2" expandables out of underpowered bows.If you are using big heads,fixed or mechanical,you better be packing a punch or you will be disspointed. Just my 2 cents

I prefer to use fixed broadheads myself, but We have taken 2 of 3 bull moose with mechanicals .I've heard lots of guy's say not to use them for anything larger than deer but each guy has his own opinion and obviously they are just that OPINIONS because we have 2 moose that say they'll work on very large game as well.Not that I'd change my mind but I do know that mechanicals do work.I think mechanicals are much better now than when they first come out and it's probably why some hunters just don't trust them. I know they work but I can't help but think when I use them that's when one blade won't open properly and I'll injure or lose a animal ,so I will stick to cut on contact or fixed .
But mechanical's do work.For each his own.

nubo

Like others have said, most horror stories about mechanicals are either made up, or they are due to the hunter, not the b-head. If a mechanical is put where it needs to be, it will kill a deer.

I have two mechanicals and 4 fixed blade b-heads sitting right in front of me and I can tell you that the mech's are pretty impressive.

I havn't hunted with mechs, so I can't comment on them, but, I have shot my mechs into various targets and other items, and they have suprised me.

Right now, I have 100 grain Rocky MT Gator and a 125 Votex Pro Extreme sitting in front of me.

These both fly great, but, my bow is tuned very well, so that is a major reason. As far as opening goes, I shot them through a watermelon to see how quick they opened. The Gator was almost fullyed opened on the front side and it was fully opened on the back. The front hole was 1-7/8" and the b-heads cutting diameter is 2". The Vortex wasn't as quick opening, but gosh, when that thing got fully opened, it looked like someone took a machete to the watermelon. It was about half open on the front and fully opened on the back. You can't believe was a 2-3/4" hole looks like until you actually see it in something. When shot with dental rubber bands on, into the b-head side of my Knight and Hale (cube style) target, I was getting entrance holes that were just a little under 3-1/2" wide. I couldn't believe the size of gash that was.

This fall, I am gonna carry 2 mechs and 2 fixed blades in my quiver. What I am gonna try is 125 grain Rocky MT Snyper XP's and 125 Grain 3-Blade Muzzys. If they group the same (which they should), then I am gonna do this. If a doe comes in, I am gonna let a Snyper fly at her. If a buck comes in, I am gonna go with the proven Muzzy.

I am still a little skeptical of mechs, but no because of penetration or blades opening. I am a little worried about blades breaking, that is the only reason I didn't use the Gators I have last year.

Sorry, but my Muzzys do out of my setup or I would not use them. Of course I spend a lot of time getting them to shoot that way.

I have not yet tried mechanicals so I cannot comment except to say I just cannot make myself yet try a head that has to open up upon impact, maybe this fall I will give a mechanical head a try.

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Vortex heads have been around for alot longer than 1 year , I know they have been around atleast 5 , and probably alot longer than that . I used to be a fixed only archery allso , untill I saw with my own eyes , for 5 years in a row , how the vortex heads worked . They are an excellent head for deer , I dont think Id use them for mouse or elk , but I'll bet there are members on this board who have had sucess with these heads on those animals allso .

If I were using a compound I'd have no problems at all shooting mechanicals. I killed deer with Vortex and Shockwaves and were very impressed, my Dad kills his deer with First Cut's -